Ofsted to keep closer watch on classrooms

Ofsted is to send more inspectors into lessons to observe teachers at work, following criticisms that its reports are focusing too much on schools' test results and not enough on the culture in the classroom.

The chief inspector of education, Christine Gilbert, will make the announcement in an overhaul of inspections next week. Yesterday she told the MPs on the education select committee that proposals for a new inspection regime would include more lesson observation.

Gilbert also raised new concerns about poorly performing teachers, saying that it often took too long to "get rid of" teachers who were not up to scratch.

She said: "We are working to improve our work so it is more proportionate ... inspectors may spend more time than they currently do in classrooms."

On average inspectors spend 3.25 hours in primary classrooms and nine hours in secondary classrooms during inspections. A spokesman for Ofsted said it was "fair to speculate" that in some cases that could double.

Gilbert disputed committee chairman Barry Sheerman's suggestion that the current lighter-touch inspections had failed to "get to the heart of" what was going on in schools.

She said: "We don't rely just on data. We go into schools and test out that data, speak to teachers, observe lessons and invite comments from parents, and we do get a full impression of the school."

Asked about the number of failing teachers, she said: "I see, and heads tell me, that the process for getting rid of teachers who can't teach well takes too long. They are reluctant to embark on it. When they embark on it, the teacher moves school before the end, so I do think there is an issue there."

Gilbert said she had no evidence on which to provide a number for how many teachers are not up to standard.

Recent estimates have suggested the number of inadequate teachers in England lies between 17,000 and 24,000.

Keith Bartley, head of the General Teaching Council for England, told the Guardian that previous estimates of around 17,000 were reasonable, but has insisted they should be retrained rather than dismissed.

There are also concerns that because it takes so long to dismiss teachers they simply leave to be "recycled" through other schools.

The government has promised plans to make it easier to "remove" below-standard teachers from schools.

John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, said: "Teachers don't want more classroom observation if it is tied to higher stakes judgments of their schools."

John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "Following the introduction of shorter inspections, the focus has moved from classroom observation by inspectors to a detailed inspection of data and school leadership.

"Increasing the amount of lesson observation during inspections will help to give inspectors a more rounded view of the school."